Birth of Darkness
by Okami SonicChaos
Summary: Okami leaves us with many unanswered questions, one of which being the Dark Lord, Yami. Just who is he? Where did he come from? And why the heck is his true form that of an evil little fish?


The afterlife was a cold, dark place.

Contrary to the beliefs of many of the creatures in the world of the living, it was not a place designed to reward those who lived a good life, nor was it a place to punish those who sinned. Rather, it was simply another realm. A kingdom of all those spirits who had passed on, from where they may catch glimpses of those they left behind, and rest for an eternity.

But, despite it's true nature, all Izanami noticed about the place was how cold and _lonely_ it was.

She missed her dear husband, Izanagi, who was still somewhere on the Celestial Plain, no doubt mourning her loss as much as she was. But despite her divine nature, even she could not break past the laws of death. She had eaten the food of the afterlife, and was forever bound to it. Not even the power of her beloved could bring her back if the afterlife did not wish it.

Silently, she sat, pondering the life she once had, how she and Izanagi had shaped the world of the mortal plain, of the gods they had brought into the world. It had been the last of those children, a god of fire, that had been her demise. He had been born aflame, and her body perished upon giving it birth. It had not been the child's fault - it could not help what nature it took - but nonetheless, she hoped that Izanagi would not take his anger over her death out on the child.

As she sat, brooding, she heard footsteps, and got to her feet, curiosity and hope overtaking her. The afterlife was populated only by spirits - none of them walked as the gods and their creations did. Only someone from the land of the living could have caused the noise she heard approaching her.

He could not see her in the darkness of the spirit realm, but Izanami, who had become used to the shadowy place, could see him clearly. It was her husband, Izanagi, come to visit her in the land of the dead. She called out his name in joy, glad to see him one last time even if she was forever trapped in this cold place.

The great god stopped, looking at her dark figure, not able to make out her figure amid the darkness but knowing full well who he was speaking to. "Izanami, my love," he said, "I've come to bring you from this wretched place."

She sighed, suspecting that had been his purpose. "Not even you have that power, dear," she responded with a bit of sadness, "I have already eaten from the halls of the dead. I am forever bound to this place."

He knew what she meant. For all their power, even the gods could not overrule death. He stayed silent for a moment, then spoke again. "Then allow me to see your face one last time, that I might remember it for the eternity to come."

At his request, Izanami panicked. Death was not kind on the appearance, and she knew full well that if her husband saw her, he would not see the beautiful face of a divine maiden, but rather that of a burned, rotten corpse. She could not bear for that to be his last image of her. "I cannot grant you that, my love," she said, "You may ask anything else of me, but not that. I cannot bear for you to see me like this."

He laughed at her response, wondering just what would have his wife so spooked to refuse such a simple request. "You are being foolish," he roared, "What could prevent you from wanting me to see your pretty face?"

Her panic raised again. "You cannot!" she exclaimed, backing away. After a moment, she collected herself, speaking again, softly. "It is better for both of us that you not look upon me in this world." She turned, walking back towards the halls of the dead, the doors of which he would not be able to pass. For a brief moment, she looked back towards him. "Goodbye, my love."

Izanagi bristled with anger as she walked away. Not only would she refuse such a simple request, but she dared to just leave him? After all he had gone through to get to the afterlife to find her?

Without thinking, the great god removed the comb that held his hair together and used his divine power, "lighting it like a torch. He _would_ have one last look at his beloved before they became separated for an eternity.

The world paused for a moment as the light washed over her deformed body. As Izanagi looked over his wife's burned and broken body, all he could feel was pure terror. Screaming, he dropped his makeshift torch, turned, and ran.

Izanami saw the light come over her, heard her husband's scream, and knew what he had done. She turned back, wanting to apologize for him having to see her like this, that she had tried to warn him, but all she saw was his distant form as he ran with all his might from the spirit realm.

Suddenly, she felt pure anger wash over her. For all his words, for all his gestures of love, did he really think so little of her that he would abandon her based solely on her appearance? Was her fair form all he had ever cared about. With a bloodcurdling yell that roused the dark creatures of the land of the dead, she gave chase with supernatural speed, determined to make the god suffer for his betrayal. Beside her, the arisen creatures also gave chase, eager for the chance to bring another divine spirit into their ranks.

Her husband heard her yell, and looked behind him, panicking as he saw the monster that had been his wife charging towards him along with the deformed beasts of the afterlife. He hurried his pace, seeing the light of the living not far ahead. Pulling out his paintbrush, he rapidly drew a line of dots behind him, summoning a wall of bamboo to stall his pursuers.

The monsters of the underworld stopped at the makeshift gate, their physical forms unable to get past the barricade. As Izanami approached the barrier, her spirit separated from her corpse, flying through the wall of bamboo and continuing to give chase, faster than before. The tunnels shook with the force of her anger as she screamed after the fleeing man. _"How dare you abandon me_," she cried after him.

Izanagi heard his deceased wife's voice and increased his pace, the grasses of the Celestial Plain just a few meters away. As he burst out into the light of the world above, he quickly ran to a nearby boulder, using his inhuman strength to push the rock in front of the tunnel leading to the underworld, forever sealing it from the land of the living. Panting, he hunched over, trying to catch his breath after the terrible ordeal.

On the other side of the rock, Izanami stopped, her spirit unable to pass the barrier into the world above. Enraged, she continued to scream after him, loudly enough for him to hear on the opposite side of the boulder. "_Izanagi,"_ her terrifying voice boomed, "_If you leave me now, I swear I will destroy a thousand of your creation's souls each day."_

His panic starting to fade, the god screamed back, defiant. "Then I shall give life to fifteen-hundred each day!"

As he walked away, her piercing screams raged after him.

Years passed as the departed goddess festered in the realm below, consumed by the anger and hatred she now held towards her husband. Above, she could hear the sounds of joy as the Celestials and Brush Gods went about their lives in peace and happiness. A life she would never have.

_They shall all know my pain,_ she thought, enraged at the sounds of merriment from the world above. She turned to stare at a pond of water, a small fish swimming around, oblivious to her troubles. Even the smallest of creatures from the world above had a place here.

Staring at the creature, Izanami's eyes glared ominously. Perhaps she could not break past the barrier into the world of light above. But there were other methods, other ways to influence the other realms. Other ways to have her vengeance.

The goddess screamed, releasing all of her anger and hatred and channeling it into the small creature in the water below. Above, the Celestial Plain shook under the fury of the queen of death.

After several seconds, the pulse of dark energy from her body subsided, and she looked at her handiwork, exhausted.

What had moments ago been a mere fish was now a dark, almost alien looking creature, it's body glowing with blue markings, aura radiating pure evil.

She gave the creature a sadistic grin. Her voice reverberated across the tunnels of the afterlife.

"_You shall be called Yami._ _And you shall be this world's doom."_

* * *

><p>Oh man. I just love bringing the Shinto myths Okami was based on into my writings. There's just so much interesting background that it adds, and so much we don't know about the game's lore where it can be brought in. One such hole in the game's story? Yami. Who is he, where did he come from, and <em>why the heck is he a little black fish?<em>

This particular tale is based primarily on the story of Izanagi and Izanami, the gods responsible for shaping the Earth and creating the majority of the gods and goddesses in the Shinto faith (including Amaterasu). I tweaked it slightly to fit the story a bit better, but the premise is the same: Izanami dies while giving birth to the god of fire. Izanagi attempts to revive her from the afterlife. He sees her deformed body and freaks out. She becomes furious and holds a grudge, thus creating the cycle of life and death. Izanami kills 1,000 souls each day, and Izanagi creates 1,500 more in response.

At the moment, I don't have a set schedule for little stories like this. Ideally, I'd like to have a chapter of _For All Eternity_ out once a week, and short stories like this one will come out here and there in-between chapters to provide some added context for the major events going on in the main story. Unless otherwise stated in the description for a story, assume that all of my Okami works take place in the same continuity (I actually have a massive Google Doc with a timeline covering all the events I have planned for future stories as well as notes for all the characters and how they're involved).

As always, constructive feedback is appreciated. Thank you all for your continued support!


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